The safety of Kenyans caught up in post-election violence in neighbouring Tanzania must be guaranteed, Kenya's foreign minister has told his Tanzanian counterpart.
Kenyan citizens are living in fear in Tanzania after being reportedly targeted in a brutal crackdown on the protests that followed last week's disputed election.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan won the poll with 98% of the vote - and in her inauguration speech condemned the violence and blamed foreigners for stoking the unrest.
Kenya's Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi said the rights of some Kenyans had been violated and that formal reports had been submitted to the Tanzanian authorities for appropriate action.
During a phone conversation, Mudavadi said he had told Tanzanian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo that concerns would be addressed through the established diplomatic and consular channels.
But he had reaffirmed the importance of safeguarding the rights, safety, and dignity of Kenyans living in Tanzania.
The Tanzanian government has come under intense international scrutiny for allegedly using excessive force to quell post-election protests, which reportedly left hundreds of people dead.
Several families in Kenya have expressed concern for the safety of their relatives in Tanzania, following reports that some Kenyans have been killed, injured, or detained, while others are nursing injuries allegedly inflicted by Tanzanian security officers.
Kenyan human rights activist Hussein Khalid urged the government to take urgent measures to protect them, saying that Tanzanian authorities were using Kenyans as scapegoats for the atrocities committed by police against Tanzanians.
Earlier a Tanzanian police spokesman said the country had intelligence that some foreigners had crossed the border through illegal points with the intention to commit crimes, including causing unrest.
Election observers say the polls fell short of democratic standards, but the government insists the election was fair and transparent.
In May diplomatic relations were strained over Tanzania's treatment of Kenyans who had gone to Dar es Salaam for legal observations, with several deported.
As concerns rise, the Kenyan foreign affairs ministry is now asking relatives of Kenyans possibly in distress in Tanzania to share their names, addresses, and emergency contacts, acknowledging public concerns about the government's response.
